Helping Homeless Families Get Back Home

WellSpring director: A car is not a home

Written and Photographed By Lance Gideon | lgideon@reporter-times.comNovember 18, 2016

MARTINSVILLE
The WellSpring Center in Martinsville has participated in several events over the past few days as part of National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week. On Thursday, Bob Goodrum, executive director of WellSpring, lived in his car for 24 hours.

“We are trying to raise awareness of homelessness in our community,” Goodrum said.

Goodrum said he believes there are roughly 100 individuals living in shelters throughout Morgan County, with about 75 living at WellSpring.

At 9 a.m. on Thursday, Goodrum parked his maroon Jeep on the Morgan County Courthouse Square to help raise awareness for homelessness in Morgan County.

“I’ve had a lot of people stop and give a thumbs up as they drove by and saw what I was doing,” he said.

Goodrum also joked that one gentleman thought he was trying to sell his car and made him an offer to buy it. He clarified that the vehicle is not for sale.

Goodrum posted several posters on his vehicle, one stating that 19.3 percent of Morgan County youth live below the poverty line.

In 2015, Goodrum lived on the roof of WellSpring for 24 hours. He laughed as he talked about how different the weather was on Thursday compared to 2015’s event, believing it was about 34 degrees as a high in 2015. Thursday’s high temperature was 75 degrees in Martinsville.

Thursday was also the day that the city of Martinsville presented a proclamation declaring Nov. 16, 2016, as WellSpring Day in Martinsville.

“The city of Martinsville strives to be welcoming and compassionate to all and supplies and provides supportive services to people experiencing homelessness,” the proclamation said.

The proclamation ceremony was also a chance for Modern Woodsmen to present a check for $2,500 to WellSpring as a matching donation from the facility’s open house on Oct. 16.

Today, WellSpring staff will pass out fliers at the Martinsville Rural King with a list of items that can be purchased at the store to be donated to the center

To help, donations of any kind can be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the center, 301 W. Harrison St., Martinsville.